Back in early 2014 at the World Money Fair in Berlin, the Mint of Poland unveiled it’s annual large and unusual coin, to follow on from the superb Fortuna Redux coin of the previous year. A celebration of Pope John Paul II, the coin described by the mint as a ‘cuboid’ is basically an exploded cube shape, struck on all six external, and all six internal faces. The top face had a circular open portal formed within it that allowed viewing of the internals. It was a clever design, offering a huge amount of space to display the mints craft, although some of it was wasted on repetition.

The Mint of Poland produces and strikes many coins for others, doing so with great ability, and it’s to Poland that AllCollect went for its own coin. Using an identical physical design to the papal coin (though ½oz lighter), this new one is, in our view, a huge improvement. It’s helped by the subject matter being so broad and iconic; the works of rennaissance genius Leonardo Da Vinci covering all faces of the coin. Artwork includes interpretations of many of the maestro’s most famous pieces – the Vituvian Man, Mona Lisa, the Helicopter design, and across three faces, the Last Supper. Antique-finished, we like this one, even the selctive gilding on the single obverse face looking integral to the design.

At 6½ ounces, it’s a hefty piece, made to look its best by some superb packaging, similar to that used by the Mint of Poland for most of its premium releases. The pope coin eventually reappeared in flattened and gilded form, but we’d be surprised if that were the case here. This one has been available for a while and can be picked up at numerous dealers around the world, priced at around €600/$650.

OUTER VIEWS

LEONARDO DA VINCI

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, 15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519), was an Italian polymath whose areas of interest included invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography. He has been variously called the father of paleontology, ichnology, and architecture, and is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time. Sometimes credited with the inventions of the parachute, helicopter and tank, his genius epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal.

Leonardo was, and is, renowned primarily as a painter. Among his works, the Mona Lisa is the most famous portrait and The Last Supper the most reproduced religious painting of all time, with their fame approached only by Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam. Leonardo’s drawing of the Vitruvian Man is also regarded as a cultural icon, being reproduced on items as varied as the euro coin, textbooks, and T-shirts. Perhaps fifteen of his paintings have survived. Nevertheless, these few works, together with his notebooks, which contain drawings, scientific diagrams, and his thoughts on the nature of painting, compose a contribution to later generations of artists rivalled only by that of his contemporary, Michelangelo.

Leonardo is revered for his technological ingenuity. He conceptualised flying machines, a type of armoured fighting vehicle, concentrated solar power, an adding machine, and the double hull, also outlining a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics. Relatively few of his designs were constructed or were even feasible during his lifetime, as the modern scientific approaches to metallurgy and engineering were only in their infancy during the Renaissance, but some of his smaller inventions, such as an automated bobbin winder and a machine for testing the tensile strength of wire, entered the world of manufacturing unheralded.

Today, Leonardo is widely considered one of the most diversely talented individuals ever to have lived.

OBVERSE & INSIDE VIEWS

MINTS DESCRIPTION

This Issue is a new coin creation in the shape of an open cube with images and artwork on each side. The coin features various Masterpieces of Leonardo da Vinci (15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519) such as Last Supper, Mona Lisa, Self-portrait, Vitruvian Man etc. He has been variously called the father of paleontology, ichnology, and architecture and is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time. On the reverse is the effigy of Queen Elisabeth II. surrounded by a gold plated frame. The design, shape and production makes the coin very rare.

PRESENTATION

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SPECIFICATION

DENOMINATION COMPOSITION WEIGHT DIMENSION FINISH MINTAGE BOX / COA
$25 NEW ZEALAND 0.999 SILVER 202.15 g 45.0 x 45.0 mm ANTIQUE 500 YES / YES

PRESENTATION